This was a massive downturn form the $1.8 billion in pre tax profits earned in the year before. The company revealed its audited results at a press conference held at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in New Kingston yesterday.

Last year was a tough one for the company with gross operating revenues dropping $3 billion to $23.5 billion. This as liberalisation in the telecommunications market reduced formerly guaranteed income streams.

The cost of services and equipment sold was reduced by $1.6 billion to $7 billion however. The result is that its net operating revenue was down by just $1.5 billion to $16.4 billion.

Total operating expenses rose by $905 million to $12.85 billion, giving an operating profit of $3.6 billion. The operating profit was $2.4 billion down from the year before.

The most dramatic change on the C&W income statement was the $11.1 billion impairment the company decided to take on its assets last year. This was $9.2 billion more than the impairment in the 2003 financial year.

Accounting rules require that an impairment loss should be recognised when the recoverable amount of an asset is less than its book value. With the impairment charge, the company made an operating loss of $7.5 billion, down $11.6 billion from the year before.

But other expenses fell by $773 million to $721 million. And the company got $2.8 billion tax credit, compared with a payment of $839 million in 2003.

The net result was the company's after tax loss of $5.4 billion for 2004.

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